Report Shows Long Term
Use of Cell Phones Linked to Brain Tumors
Sunday, December 28, 2008 by: David Gutierrez
(NaturalNews) A report by Toronto Public Health advises children to limit
their use of cell phones as much as possible, citing studies that have linked
long-term mobile phone exposure to an increased risk of brain tumors.
"We think it's responsible to limit children's exposure," the researchers
wrote.
"While scientists were pretty dismissive of any risk years ago, with
the accumulation of studies, it appears people who have been using their phones
for a long period of time are at greater risk of certain kinds of brain
tumors." said report co-author Loren Vanderlinden.
Toronto Public Health recommends that children use land lines whenever possible,
using mobile
phones only for "essential purposes." When cell
phones are used, the report urges children to keep calls shorter than
10 minutes and to use headsets or other hands-free devices as much as possible.
Limiting cellular phone use is especially important for pre-adolescents, the
authors said.
"Teach [children] the ways to use a cell
phone responsibly," Vanderlinden advised parents. "To make shorter
calls, to use other modes of communication; if it's possible, use a landline."
Researchers suspect that the thinner skulls and smaller heads of children
place them at greater risk than adults from the same degree of mobile
phone radiation. Indeed, some studies have confirmed that cell phone radiation
penetrates deeper into the brains of children than adults.
The use of cellular phones has dramatically increased in Canada over the
last 10 years, particularly among children. Approximately 61 percent of children
between the ages of 12 in 19 now use mobile phones. The numbers for children
under the age of 12 are not known.
The Toronto warning is the first warning against cellular phone use in Canada,
and is similar to warnings that have been issued in Belgium, England, France,
Germany and Russia. Health Canada, the country's public
health agency, said it had no plans to follow Toronto's lead.
Sources for this story include: www.upi.com;
www.ctv.ca;www.cbc.ca. |
